We had watched many times a similar video [2] showing pencils being made at the Kita-Boshi factory. The production line wasn’t operating the day we went, but we still got a full introduction to the history and manufacture of pencils from the company chairman [3], who is very enthusiastic about the pencil business. The other attendees were all elementary school children and their parents or grandparents.
There used to be dozens of pencil factories in Tokyo, but Kita-Boshi is one of the few remaining. The larger Japanese pencil brands, such as Tombow and Mitsubishi, now source most of their production from places like Vietnam or China.
We came back home with a bag full of Kita-Boshi pencils that I bought there. I don’t use pencils much myself anymore, but when I tried writing with them they felt smoother and easier to write with than the wooden pencils I used as a child in the U.S. sixty years ago.
[1] http://www.kitaboshi.co.jp/pencil-lab/
[2] https://youtu.be/Lk_57TP6RFk
[3] https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/local/tokyo23/feature/CO100007/202...
The page says to contact the factory by either email or fax (!) to reserve a spot. If you write to them in English, I suggest you preface it with a translation of your message in Japanese by ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. If you prompt the LLM with an explanation of how you plan to use the text you want translated, it should produce a decent translation.
The explanations at the factory were entirely in Japanese, and I doubt if any interpreting is available. The chairman did tell me, though, that they get occasional visitors from outside Japan, and he seemed to welcome them.
I am going to be very very pedantic here so read on for entertain purposes....
I don't like the unusual shape of blackwing pencils' erasers. They break the symmetry of the entire pencil.
However, I like dixon ticonderoga the most since they are a good balance of quality and price.
But, I usually use mechanical pencils. And I am very particular about which kinds to use.
My favorite overall is "Autopoint". This company has been out of business for many years, perhaps decades so I only have a "vintage" collection of those which I use regularly.
This is what they look like: https://www.newegg.com/autopoint-inc-all-american-ink-lead-r...
Here is my criteria for a perfect (to me) mechanical pencil: - retractable tip/nib - always exposed eraser (there should be no cap etc.) - replaceable eraser (should be as thick as eraser at back of wooden pencils) - no fancy buttons - pocket clip
The best mechanical pencil I have tried that feels just right and is balanced, is P209. However, it doesn't have a retractable tip and the eraser is not exposed. If it did have retractable tip. I wish it did.
The one that really comes close is Faber-Castell grip matic 0.7mm. It is almost perfect! It has retractable nib, and an always exposed eraser which also retracts! And a great grip!
Alas, it has two problems: the eraser is twist up type which is fine, but when you erase with it, it twists and retracts back inside. Also the eraser encasing is a flimsy plastic that gets loose over time. Ugh! You were so close!!!
If you are looking for replacement erasers for your autopoint pencil (the slim one), these fit perfectly and come in various colors: https://www.build-a-pencil.com/collections/all
I had heard rumors somewhere that someone bought the rights and the machines but that’s about it!
I’m surely going to buy a few!
Thank you so much!
(review -> https://www.instagram.com/p/CrD5KRnuLnh/?img_index=2&igsh=cD... )
They are not suitable for fine drawing (too waxy and soft) - those are either STAEDTLER, FaberCastell, or Tombow (Japanese brand).
The fancy tip eraser is also not very useful. The metal around it is so soft, it can't hold any pressure. Also extremely not child friendly, as the small metal part inside just fells out.
Tombow Mono - de-facto standard eraser.
The eraser is infamous for being terrible. But it looks cool.
2mm mechanical pencils are more versatile that way, but also generally heavier, unless it's something like a Faber-Castell TK9400 or Kitaboshi Otona no Enpitsu.
I started using them a couple of decades ago, but things escalated once my kids started school, seeing as I just sent them off with a couple of Hi-Unis.
Teacher noted she hardly ever had to help my kids sharpen their pencils, wondered why, asked me if I could get her those for the entire class...
Next thing I knew, I peddle in the pencil business - currently bringing in ~240 pencils a year...
(The lead is nigh on unbreakable, and it holds its point very well.)
I'm not sure where the Blackwings are made. Definitely not the Kitaboshi factory. Probably Eyeball in Tokyo?
Their next gen process was a fully automated continuous process co-extruder that extruded a core of hot graphite surrounded by a cellulose/wood mixture. That continuous string of graphite/wood composite was pulled down a two hundred foot line where it was cooled, sealed, painted twice, varnished, cut, capped with erasers and boxed. The whole line could be operated with two people.
All of us young people knew those bendy, half-plastic, scratchy-lead pencils were trash. (The graphite would even break inside the barrel). They were barely fit to play the role of tinkertoys.
I hope the PE firm did something magnanimous with the money it saved.
I find something "restorative" (ha, ha) for the soul—watching a thing made (or restored).
Glad to have them back for note-taking and sketching.